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Prayer

November 21, 2018 By Sam Guzman 14 Comments

The Remedy of Silence

Almost everything about life in the modern world encourages a certain shallowness—shallowness in relationships, in thought, and in interior reflection of any sort. From morning until night, we are assaulted by a stream of images and impressions, many of which are seeking to manipulate us for certain ends. 

Quantity is valued over quality, and if we can do something faster, cheaper, and with fewer demands on our time and attention, we will. We substitute the richness of face-to-face contact with texting and an endless stream of ephemeral social media interactions. We demand fast and free shipping on the millions of products available to us. We purchase robots to vacuum our floors and install devices that enable us to control every device in our homes with verbal commands. 

In short, we are taught by the marketplace to believe that we are entitled to everything we desire immediately and with the least amount of effort and at the lowest cost. After all, as thousands of commercials proclaim, “you deserve it.”

I want to make myself clear: I do not say all this disparage every aspect of modern life. Modernity, with all its benefits, has in some real ways enhanced our lives. I do not propose we reject every aspect of modern life. Not only would complete withdrawal be inadvisable, but it would also be nearly impossible. Like it or not, we are all ensnared in the modern way of being to various degrees. We are all consumers. It is the air we breathe. 

But while I do not counsel a complete rejection of consumerist modernity, I likewise do not advise a completely uncritical embrace of it. We would do well to assess the dangers of our market-driven way of life, for they are very real. 

One of the most prominent dangers we face is importing the consumerist mentality into our spiritual lives. We can easily come to believe the sanctity can be unlocked quickly and easily with a hack, a shortcut, or even a purchase—that holiness can be had without any kind of sacrifice. After all, everything else can. 

Moreover, our shallow, impression-driven way of life is inimical to any real prayer life. Thousands of saints and sages testify that authentic contact with the Divine cannot be found in noise, activity, or much speaking, but only in stillness and quietness. “What we need most in order to make progress,” says St. John of the Cross, “is to be silent before this great God with our appetite and with our tongue, for the language he best hears is silent love.”

Silence. This is the real remedy to modernity. I can think of no better antidote to the cult of unlimited choice than this. Silence teaches patience, and patience gives birth to prayer. Silence quells our restlessness and puts us in touch with eternal values. 

This silence, however, is not something you stumble into or experience accidentally. It is something you must intentionally cultivate. Each day, we should strive to find moments to pause and reflect; to remove ourselves from the steam of impressions and advertisements which only stir within us restlessness and discontent. We must seek times to be quiet before the Lord in adoration and thanksgiving, for in these moments of quiet communion lie true healing and purification. 

Above all, we must remember that holiness cannot be bought. Unlike so many things available to us, it requires real effort, real sacrifice, and real desire. In other words, holiness demands the cross. And there are no shortcuts. 

 “The greatest things are accomplished in silence—not in the clamor and display of superficial eventfulness, but in the deep clarity of inner vision; in the almost imperceptible start of decision, in quiet overcoming and hidden sacrifice.” – Cardinal Robert Sarah


 

Filed Under: Prayer

November 16, 2018 By Sam Guzman 4 Comments

A Call to Catholic Men: Join in Prayer and Sacrifice for the Church

Anyone who has been halfway paying attention will know that the Church is facing a serious crisis—one fueled by sexual scandals, financial corruption, and increasing doctrinal confusion.

It’s a crisis of more than just policy too. The utter failure of many in the hierarchy to faithfully teach and proclaim the most basic tenets of the faith, coupled with grave moral failings of literally thousands of clergy, calls into question for many the entire credibility and moral authority of the Church.

It is easy for us laity, faced with such grave scandals, to feel powerless. After all, we do not elect our leaders as we do in a democratic system. We can protest and make our voices heard, but ultimately we have no control whatsoever over the hierarchy.

We are faced with a choice. We can either ignore the situation and pretend everything’s fine, or we can take up weapons of a spiritual nature and pray and fast for the Church. I choose the latter, and I hope you will join me. 

I invite all of you to join a movement of thousands of Catholics beginning Exodus 90 from January 21 until Easter. If you haven’t heard of Exodus 90, it’s a 90-day spiritual exercise involving focused fasting, prayer, and other forms of asceticism, together with other men. 

I won’t lie. It will be challenging, and it will involve some real sacrifices. It will change how you spend your time, how you eat, and what media you consume. But if there’s ever time the Catholic church needs men to rise up and embrace prayer and penance, it is now. 

As men, we are called to lead. Let’s shake off our complacency, take up our crosses, and deny ourselves for the good of our families, the Church, and the world. Join the waiting list using the link below to get notified when the start date begins.

JOIN THE WAITING LIST

Filed Under: Penance, Prayer, Uncategorized

September 13, 2018 By Guest Contributer 1 Comment

Relics and the Gritty Faith of the Early Church

At the northern tip of Via Giulia in Rome, you’ll find the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini. The large dome that crowns this church is one of many that accent the Roman skyline.

San Giovanni dei Fiorentini

If it’s hot, airy churches like San Giovanni provide the weary pilgrim with a spiritual and physical oasis. Most likely, you’ll be sweaty and your feet sore from treading the miles of cobblestone streets in the Eternal City. Walk up the worn marble steps of San Giovanni and enter. Head down the left aisle and, at the end, you’ll notice a striking silver reliquary in the shape of…a foot. Inside this reliquary is the foot of Saint Mary Magdalen. (This is Rome, folks, so get used to seeing bones encased in elaborate gold and silver surrounded by vigil candles and corpses under altars and many other things that will certainly strike some Americans as odd or macabre. The Church has been doing this for ages.)

Spend some time in prayer before the relic of this saint known first for her conversion and later, her unflagging loyalty to Christ when most of his closest friends bolted. Ensnared by sin, she was set free by the Lord, and never left Him again. During the crucifixion, perhaps some choice words were directed at her by people in the crowd. Maybe her past life was well-known. Regardless, she stayed at the foot of the cross. There’s an inscription near the relic stating that the feet of Mary Magdalen were the first to enter the tomb of Christ after the Resurrection. According to tradition, she later lived as a hermitess for the rest of her life, absorbed in prayer and love. She wasn’t a martyr, but she must have been one of the most fearless saints of the early Church.

Ready to move on?

If you’re walking down Via del Corso, make a short detour to San Silvestro in Capite. Near the huge Zara store, and amidst high-fashion bargain hunters, is this eighth century gem that got its start as a repository for the bones of early Church martyrs. Walk through the main entrance and you’ll find yourself in a peaceful courtyard with palm trees. The thick walls here do a fine job of blocking a lot of the nearby (nonstop) buzzing of vespas, busses and cars.

Walk through the doors and make a sharp left. Enter a small chapel and you’ll notice a large gothic reliquary of gold containing a skull. This, according to tradition, is the skull of Saint John the Baptist. Kneel for a moment and think about this great saint who died defending marriage before the powerful of his day. (A timely reminder for today, to be sure.) There was nothing soft or thin-skinned about John the Baptist. He came, “neither eating or drinking” as Christ Himself said. He stood firm. He spoke the truth. He was martyred.

Given the sporadic, hit or miss nature of Roman busses, you might want to pay the ten Euro for a taxi to our next stop: Tre Fontane (Three Fountains) Abbey. On these serene grounds, you’ll feel like you’ve left the present behind and entered the first century. Tradition tells us Saint Paul was martyred here.

As you approach the cluster of churches on the grounds of this fortress-like abbey, don’t forget to look down. You’re walking along large ancient stones that have been embedded in the ground since Saint Paul himself was brought here. Did he tread these same stones in the final days of his life? The odds are high.

One of the churches here is Saint Paul and the Three Fountains. Enter and you’ll see a small stairway on your left. Go down and you’re in a musty chapel that has changed very little over the centuries. This cell is where Saint Paul was imprisoned shortly before his martyrdom. Look around. You’re sharing the same small space as one of the Princes of the Apostles.

Go back up the stairs and head towards the wall opposite the main entrance. You’ll see three identical shrines with a grill built into each one. At one end is a large pillar encased in a protective iron gate. This pillar is where the Apostle rested his head just prior to the sword’s fatal blow. The “Three Fountains” part of the church’s title refers to the tradition that, when Paul’s head was lopped off, it took three large bounces from the pillar and, at each point of contact with the ground, a fountain emerged. The trio of shrines (two of which you see here) was built over the spots where Paul’s severed head touched the ground.

Reading the Acts of the Apostles and Paul’s Epistles, we see how much suffering and how many trials he endured for Christ. For preaching the truth, he was stoned, exiled, beaten, imprisoned and finally martyred. He didn’t back down or cower in the face of difficulty or hostility. Was he worried about his tone, or whether what he said would make him popular among worldly or religious elites? No. Like Saint Mary Magdalen and Saint John Baptist, Saint Paul was faithful in the face of danger, insults and death.

Before heading back to the center of Rome, stop for a recharge at the cafe near the entrance of the abbey. Sit outside in the shaded garden with an espresso and take in the scene and history around you.

You’re back in the center of Rome now in a vast space: Piazza Navona. In the first century, this was the Stadium of Domitian. Now, it’s one of Rome’s most popular hangouts for tourists and Romans alike. Like so many landmarks in Rome, the massive fountain and statues in the middle of the piazza were designed by the incomparable Gian Lorenzo Bernini. But without a doubt, it’s Sant’Agnese in Agone that dominates this ancient space.

This stunning Baroque masterpiece, designed for the most part by Francesco Borromini, is dedicated to the early Church martyr Agnes. Enter and immediately your eyes are drawn up. You’re caught up in heaven. Only God could have inspired this.

Back on solid ground, make your way to a short, curved hallway on the left. It leads to a small chapel often overlooked by tourists. Here in a quiet room, away from the bustle of the streets, you’ll find yourself face-to-face with the skull of Saint Agnes. Its penetrating gaze asks tough questions about the strength of my faith. The skull appears tiny, and you can’t help thinking how small in stature the young Agnes must have been when she offered her life to God.

Another early Church martyr beloved by the Romans since the fourth century, thirteen-year-old Agnes faced relentless, unimaginable pressure to deny the Lord through impurity. She refused and was beheaded, but only after repeated attempts to seduce and even rape her. (Tradition says the lust-driven men who tried to assault her were struck dead on the spot.) In one sense, how easy it would have been to give in, to cave in order to escape physical torment and death. But thirteen-year-old Agnes didn’t cave. What gave this young girl such astonishing courage, such fortitude? Faith provides the answer.

Christians of the early Church knew they were sinners in need of Christ’s healing. But visiting these ancient sites helps me appreciate a strength and grit they possessed that often seems in short supply today. They knew there was a clear choice in this life: God or Mammon. Recognition of their weakness fueled a fierce, unquenchable devotion. Has anyone put it better than Augustine? “In my deepest wound I saw your glory, and it dazzled me.”

For the martyrs, there was no meet-in-the-middle compromise or deal brokering on the fundamental choice between God and the world. They prayed. They fasted. They entered into battle.

Saint Cecilia, another beloved Roman martyr, died a slow, painful death after repeated attempts to kill her failed. She held firm to the end. Her body rests in the ancient church that bears her name in the Trastevere district of Rome. The striking statue directly above Cecilia’s tomb captures her final moments (and how her body was discovered, incorrupt after centuries). The exposed neck displays a deep gash, while the fingers on each hand show her final, silent witness to the Triune God.

Saint Sebastian, a Roman soldier and Christian, was pierced with arrows for his faith in Christ, a scene depicted countless times in art over the centuries. He recovered and went right back to the dangerous work of defending fellow Christians facing imperial persecution. The astonished (and ticked-off) Diocletian finally had him clubbed to death. His body was thrown into a sewer, but thankfully recovered by devout Christians.

Ornate ceiling of the Basilica of Saint Sebastian.

And then there’s Saint Lawrence, who was burned alive on a gridiron. Tradition tells us he even joked about it, telling his executioners to turn him over, as he was cooked enough (well done?) on one side.

Along with Saint Stephen, Saint Lawrence is buried behind this altar.

Headlines about the Church today are often dispiriting, to say the least. Often it seems like conforming to the world’s assumptions and expectations, whether in liturgy, schools, seminaries, families, entertainment, dress, culture, etc. is what some are actually gunning for. Where is that scrappy resolve and faith of the early Christians, especially the martyrs, to stand apart from the demands of the world, no matter the consequences? Where is that grit and fire? Where is the resolute defiance in the face of the world’s empty promises? Where is the attitude that says, “Go ahead and kill me. I’m not budging.”? Perhaps most importantly, where is the honesty of the saints to recognize our sinfulness, our “deepest wounds” and our need for Christ’s healing?

This gritty early Church resolve and rock-ribbed faith are precisely what Catholics, from leaders to laity, need to rediscover in 2018. Visiting the relics of the martyrs in Rome’s ancient churches, from a thirteen-year-old girl to a seasoned Roman soldier, helps me to see that more clearly.


This post originally appeared at Cream City Catholic and is reprinted with permission. 

Filed Under: Faith, Prayer, Suffering

July 4, 2018 By Sam Guzman Leave a Comment

Americans: Join Us in Prayer for Our Nation

“Let us always keep before our eyes the fact that here on earth we are on a battlefield and that in paradise we shall receive the crown of victory.”
– Padre Pio

All great saints and holy teachers of the faith testify that the spiritual life is a continual warfare against three enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil.

In this warfare, there is no respite, for our enemies are relentless. At stake is our own souls, but also the souls of others. There can be no retreat and no surrender.

But in this warfare we are not helpless. Chief among the weapons in our spiritual arsenal is prayer. We can call to our aid the saints and angelic armies, the Blessed Mother, and our Lord Jesus Christ. We are guaranteed the victory.

Looking at the state of our Church, our nation and our world, it is obvious that we need to pray. While it is true that there are many cultural and political forces working against all that is good and true, our ultimate enemies are spiritual. As St. Paul makes clear, “We are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).

For this reason, I am joining with Roman Catholic Man and Battle Ready to invite American readers to pray the 54 Day Novena for our Nation beginning August 15. You will join tens of thousands of others across the country in praying for the conversion of our nation to holiness and true faith. The novena will conclude with a Rosary rally at our nation’s capitol on October 7. (Don’t worry, attendance at the really is certainly not required to participate in the novena.)

Leading up to the novena, Fr. Rick, myself, and other writers will be sharing some reflections on growing in virtue and holiness. We hope you’ll join us.

Sign up for the Novena here.

Filed Under: Prayer, Spiritual Weapons

June 21, 2018 By Sam Guzman 23 Comments

Neo-Paganism and Catholic Mystery

I recently visited the website of a popular company that sells products like deodorant and toothpaste with natural ingredients. Curious to learn more about the business, I visited their blog which was purportedly about the latest trends in health and wellness.

What greeted me was not what I expected. Rather than tips on exercise or healthy eating, the blog featured stories about the healing power of crystals and the benefits of tarot card reading. This was at once surprising and unsurprising, for new age and occult practices, in all their various forms, are experiencing a major resurgence, especially among millennials. But from a company that sells toothpaste?

It is no exaggeration to say that, despite the best efforts of the New Atheists, our culture is more awash in spirituality than ever before. One can hardly go anywhere today without seeing products, articles, and popular gurus encouraging practices like yoga, meditation, reiki—and now, tarot and crystals—as essential to a healthy lifestyle. In the realm of entertainment, hugely popular series like Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Game of Thrones all draw on themes of magic and the supernatural.

What are we to make of this ?

Heresy…or Hunger

From a Christian perspective, many of these trends are undoubtedly suspect or downright heretical. And yet, we should think carefully before issuing anathemas, for while misguided, many of our culture’s flirtations with the occult really betray a deep hunger for the supernatural.

Theologian Alexander Schmemann once said, “To condemn a heresy is relatively easy. What is much more difficult is to detect the question it implies, and to give this question an adequate answer.” He was right. As Catholics, we are often in such a rush to point out what is wrong with neo-pagan practices that we miss the deeper questions they imply. And we certainly fail to give them a satisfying answer.

The truth is, our culture is starving for the supernatural. My generation has been raised to believe that we are nothing more than accidentally advanced apes on an unusually lucky space rock floating in a meaningless sea of nothingness in a universe that could care less whether we lived or died. It is despair inducing in the highest degree. Moreover, we have been told, nearly since infancy, that science has answered nearly all questions of existence, and if any remain unanswered, they will be resolved quite soon. For every question, there is an answer, even before you ask it. Existence is thus no longer wonderfully strange and awe-inspiring, but mundane and prosaic.

As a result, young adults today are desperate for an encounter with authentic mystery. Things like astrology and crystals are attractive because they are strange and defy the scientific-materialist paradigm. There are certainly explanations for how they work, but they require a level of faith. And despite what the pompous atheists claim, we want to have faith in something we can’t fully explain. We are fundamentally religious beings, and we instinctively know there is more to the world than meets the eye. We are hungry for magic and mystery and will embrace the first thing, rightly or wrongly, that offers it.

The Failure of Christianity

Now, you  may be reading this and thinking that Christianity, especially Catholicism, believes and proclaims the existence of supernatural realities, so why abandon it for neo-pagan practices? Wouldn’t their hunger for the supernatural be satisfied at their local parish?

Yes and no. Yes, because the supernatural mysteries taught by the Church do exist. No, because in practice we so often deny them.

We claim to believe in angels and archangels and a host of saints who join us in worship. Yet, we strip our churches bare and make them into beige-carpeted business centers, rather than holy temples.

We claim to believe that each Mass is a miracle that brings God bodily to dwell among us. Yet we make our liturgy a comfortable affair, eliminating anything that is difficult, disorienting, awe-inspiring, ancient, or mysterious. We sing cheesy ditties, hold hands, and pass out the greatest mystery of all, the Holy Eucharist, like a snack in a cafeteria.

We claim our priests have supernatural powers to consecrate, bless, and preach. Yet we water-down or change their sacred formulas, eliminate their rituals, and distribute their duties to laymen as often as possible.

We claim to believe in the Almighty, the Creator of all before whom the burning spirits veil their faces, yet we insist on dragging him down to our level to accommodate our needs and sins. We say we believe in supernatural mystery, but we do all in our power to destroy it at every turn.

If lex orandi, lex credendi is true, then we simply do not believe what we say we believe.

Christian Secularists

To be perfectly honest, we have failed to offer an encounter with mystery for some time now. The mass abandonment of the faith by young people is not so much a sign of their wickedness as an indictment of our own practical unbelief.

As Catholics, we long ago turned the faith into an intellectual game devoid of mysticism, priding ourselves on our clear philosophy and well articulated theological frameworks. But the letter without the spirit, philosophical theology without mystical encounter, kills. It is a head without a heart, and it cannot give life.

When the world walked away—tired of textbook answers and hungry for the Transcendent Mystery—we became not less worldly but more worldly. We embraced modern, secular modernity, stripping our faith of nearly everything supernatural, and we lost any credibility we had left.

The truth is, most of us live like complete secularists the vast majority of the time. We claim to believe in supernatural realities, but compartmentalize them to one hour, one day per week—and perhaps not even that. Heaven is always somewhere out there, and never really upsets my daily existence. We aren’t taken seriously by modern men and women hungry for the supernatural because we don’t believe in the supernatural, despite what we say.

The Answer

I have been critical to this point because it upsets me to see countless Catholics practically deny the supernatural realities of our faith with banal liturgies and disrespect or even disdain for the holiest things of our religion, and then see the same Catholics criticizing the errors of wayward neo-pagan youth. Until we take our own faith seriously, no one else will.

But I don’t simply want to criticize; I want to offer a solution. The answer is not difficult to discern. It is simply this: Emphasize the supernatural reality of our faith at every turn, recover those traditions which preserve and honor this reality, and thus offer an encounter with what one theologian termed the mysterium tremendum et fascinans—the Great and Awesome Mystery—which is Almighty God.

For everywhere the Holy Eucharist is treated with awesome and painstaking reverence, everywhere buildings still appear to be and are treated like temples, everywhere saints are still venerated and angels called upon, everywhere priests are honored as the supernaturally-endowed mediators that they are, everywhere miracles are still believed in and occur, the faith is growing. And it is almost always young people who flock to such places.

If we want to be a viable alternative to neo-paganism, we need to embrace once again the supernatural traditions of our faith. Our sacred language. Our ancient and venerable rites and formulas. Our “superstitious” Catholic practices. Our symbols. Our mystical traditions of prayer. We don’t need only more catechesis, as if ideas alone could save us. We need more mystery, more transcendence, more ritual, more magic, for lack of a better word.

Every Catholic must become a mystic, in the sense that we live like the supernatural is as real as the air we breathe—because it is. Then, and only then, will we be able to speak authentically to a world hungry for the divine.

Filed Under: Liturgy, Prayer

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